Who said battery-powered cars had to be boring? The “Nemesis”, a modified Lotus Exige, just broke the UK speed record for electric vehicles this morning! Engineered by renewable energy company Ecotricity, the car reached speeds of 151 mph at Elvington airfield in North Yorkshire and was driven by 21-year-old Nick Ponting. In addition to smashing records, the Nemesis is also shattering stereotypes about what it means to drive an electric vehicle.

Electric cars are moving up quickly in the racing world. Vehicles such as the 3D-printed Areion have been touring the European circuit, cruising at speeds of nearly 90 mph earlier this year, and a previous land speed record of 137 mph was set in 2000 by the Bluebird Electric and driver Don Wales. The Nemesis set the bar high at 151 mph – and it could theoretically reach 200 mph, but “real world” conditions such as drag and road variability reduce its pace.

Owner of Ecotricity, Dale Vince, told the Guardian that they had created the Nemesis to “stimulate thought and debate about how we’ll be getting around when the world runs out of oil. And what we’ve been able to demonstrate is that wind-powered cars are not just feasible, but can be a load of fun.”

In addition to being blindingly fast, the Nemesis has the ability to travel 150 miles between charges – a slightly higher range than many consumer EV’s available in the UK, including the Nissan Leaf which has a battery life of around 110 miles. The Nemesis marks a new era in electrical design for sport, and its technological advances will no doubt find its way into a broader market. Since January 2011, nearly 1,700 electric vehicles have been registered in the UK, fueled in part by a government grant scheme that credits buyers with nearly £5,000 with the purchase of an electric or hybrid car.